I know I'm not the only one who sometimes feels left out from their friends who chose to go out of state for college. Going out of state is a big step, and it's a lot different than staying in state. Often times it means going to a totally unfamiliar place with a lot of unfamiliar people, and it usually costs an arm and a leg. But luckily I've had the opportunity to go both in and out of state for college, and it made me realize that going out of state doesn't guarantee you an amazing college experience.

When I was in high school, I had no idea where I wanted to go to college. All I knew was that I wanted to go somewhere far away. I wanted to leave everything behind at home, and I felt like the only way I could be happy in college was to create that distance for myself. I felt like staying in state was boring, and I desperately wanted to be different from my peers who were all going to my state's big university. Graciously, my parents were on board with me leaving the state for college. They were willing to pay the extra money so I could get the experience I wanted. I considered a lot of different schools during my search, but ultimately, I chose the first out of state school that I toured. The campus was beautiful, the Greek life was huge and it was six hours away from home, so I was sold at first glance. I had made up my mind without much consideration or thinking. I just picked my school, applied, got accepted and patiently waited for move-in day.

After about two months of being at this huge university, I knew I didn't like it. I wasn't having the experience I thought I was going to be having. I wanted to transfer but knew I would have a hard time convincing my parents to let me go somewhere else even farther away so I could completely start over. After many trips home, I started to realize that maybe going farther away wouldn't solve my problems. So, I decided to transfer to the school that was literally 15 minutes away from my parent's house, and I loved it. It was still a big university with a beautiful campus -- I had just never considered it because of how close it was to home. I moved into an apartment, made a few new friends and started having the college experience I dreamt of as a 17-year-old.

There's no reason to feel left out from your friends who went far away for college. There's no reason to feel like you're not experiencing adulthood because you're right down the street from your parents. When you're making your college decision, don't base it on things that don't really matter. Just because your friends go to school out of state doesn't mean that they're having a better experience than you are. Choose your school based on campus amenities, your major, the cost and other factors important to you. If it's the right fit, it won't matter if that school is five minutes away or across the country.